She faltered more than she wanted to admit, her limbs shaking with cold and fatigue, bruised and bloody. The salt water stung her cuts, but she gritted her teeth and bit her already bleeding lips.
For a time, she thought she might have passed out. Her grip slipped occasionally, and the procession stopped until she could hang on once more. Finally, though, they began to slow and in front of her, Nike saw a vast, golden palace rising out a chasm in the ocean floor. Coral festooned the balconies, and thousands of brightly colored fish darted in and out of the towers. The top dome, made of glass, showed a conservatory even to the outside. The dolphins swam faster, as though they wanted her safe inside, and she silently thanked them for their care.
Letting go, she hung in the water, her hair floating around her like the seaweed that covered the palaces lawn.
She turned towards her benefactoress, her eyes closing and opening and blurring in the water. "Are you sure you will be safe sheltering me?"